Three Marina Reductions
Lest you have been led to believe that some San Francisco neighborhoods are somehow immune to price reductions, take note of the fact that 3 of the current 22 listings in the Marina (District 7A) were reduced over the past two days.
After a month on the market, the listing price for 3201 Divisadero #305 has been reduced by $24,000 (3%); after almost two months on the market, 2258 Beach Street has just reduced its price for a second time (total reduction of $150,000 or 5%); and after almost four months on the market, 3747 Fillmore has just reduced its price for the second time as well (total reduction of $124,000 or 9%).
∙ Listing: 3701 Divisadero #305 (1/1) – $725,000 [Paragon]
∙ Listing: 2258 Beach Street (3/4.5) – $2,700,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ Listing: 3747 Fillmore (2/1.5) – $1,225,000 [MLS]

36 thoughts on “Sorry, No Neighborhoods Are Immune”
  1. $700 per square foot for a remodled top floor flat in the Marina? That’s off about $200 per square foot from last year. Can things have really come down by over 20%?

  2. Really good proerties that are 95% done to modern standards still fly off the market. Anything even remotely questionable sits… I’m not sure why Beach St hasn’t moved.. I thought it looked good at the original price, at 843 a sqft it seems even better. I haven’t been in it though, so can’t vouch for the layout, or the real sqft. 3200 seems afull big for that house. I’d like to see what they are including.

  3. No opem space, blah kitchen… please. I think I even saw some carpet in the bedroom. No thanks. It is the market naturally vetting out the props which are less quality in the nice hoods.
    Nice hood + lower quality = lower price (which does not spell an overalll decine across the board).

  4. But that means the buyer could spend $60K to update and get $300K off the purchase price. Unless prices for the redone places are also falling, that Fillmore flat should have flown off the market by now.

  5. I think for me, the kitchen is killing the Fillmore flat. It was cheaply done and if I had the $1.2MM budget, I would not want a Home Depot kitchen. The appliances are mismatched and the cabinets are awful. The flooring isn’t that great either. If they had put some more budget into that kitchen I bet it wouldn’t have been reduced like we’re seeing now. But, I will give my disclaimer stating that I haven’t been in it, this is only my comment to give from seeing the pics on mls.

  6. It takes several months to redo a kitchen. What the market is telling you is that in three months, prices will have fallen to make buying a place and remodeling a kitchen not a worthwhile endeavor. The price of a redone one will be less than the price of this one (plus remodeling costs) by the time you finished.

  7. Are prices falling? Are they falling in certain neighborhoods only? Not sure about neighborhoods, but the median home price in the city did fall 0.6% in July vs. June. Not much, but it was negative. August vs. July numbers are due out in the next week or so.

  8. This post is just asking for MarinaPrime (aka PrimeProperty and any # of other handles) to flood the response thread.

  9. I wonder what kind of family can afford to spend 1.2Mil on 2 bedroom 1.5 bath place. One has to probably make 500K/year to really afford that kind of mortgage. So if you make that kind of money why would you buy such a small place????

  10. This is a perfect example of why the median does not reflect the market. If the only thing still selling is the very top, and the prices for the top places dropped to what was formerly the median, the median price will stay steady. But the buyers are getting much better prices: top of the line for what used to be the middle.
    Yes, prices have dropped, but the median isn’t moving much, for the reason so evident here. Only the best places are selling (for less than last year) and the lesser places aren’t moving. If prices were steady, the median would rise. The fact that the median is staedy or down tells you prices are falling.

  11. A lot of people have traded up 2 or 3 times during this boom, trading up equity from property to property. The relative payments aren’t that bad for these folks. It’s the new (first time) home buyers that cannot afford these places.

  12. Quick question: Has SOCKETSITE actually gone to see these places? I highly doubt it. B/c if you guys had, then you’d know the reasons as to why they aren’t selling. The 3 out of how many total listings in prime 94123 is an example of Agent Mispricing, instead of weakness in the market.
    For Example:
    The Beach St. House for $2.7 million. Give me a break people, do you know that it is essentially a ONE BEDROOM? There are three levels in the back all connected by a Spiral Staircase! There is no privacy if you live in the upstairs ‘bedroom.’ You can’t close any doors, and have to walk down the spiral staircase THROUGH THE OTHER BEDROOM to go to the kitchen and living room. The Middle ‘bedroom’ is also connected to the lower basement ‘bedroom’. This is the most ridiculous layout ever.
    Go look at prime 94123 homes with 3 bedrooms all on the top floor, and above a formal dining room, formal living room, and eat-in kitchen that walks out to deck. You will see these homes fly.
    If this home sells for anything above $2 million, this is a HOME RUN.

  13. Ick. You would think that people living in these places would have better taste or, at least, realize that having a great kitchen (updated, nice appliances that match, great cabinets) adds tremendously to the appeal of a home and its selling potential. I wouldn’t buy any of these homes at their current listing price. Who would want to buy a place and have to redo a kitchen? I don’t — at least, not at these prices. They better be turnkey.

  14. If you can afford $1.2 for a 2b/1.5 CONDO (not a house mind you), you are a wealthy younger person who doesn’t have time to waste on 2-3 months of kitchen remodelling and planning. Enough said.

  15. You’re right; I don’t “have time [or patience] to waste on 2-3 months of kitchen remodelling and planning.”

  16. Gosh Anon MarinaPrime, maybe you should check out the layout of the flat. Pretty much like every other flat in the Marina. No walking through bedrooms, spiral staircases or anything of the sort. It aint moving and last year would have flown off if the market at $200 per square foot more. Me thinks you protest too much…

  17. Are you kidding me? That Fillmore flat has a fireplace. People with small children might worry that those kids will get burned.
    And the extra half bath? Haven’t you ever heard that half of all accidents happen in the bath?! That means you are 25% more likely to be injured than in those pricier homes that sold last year with only one bath.
    And being that near the smelly old bay isn’t going to help anyone sell a home. The closer you can get to the interior locations like Western addition, the better. I’m telling you, those places are all flawed. The market is FINE. FINE!! It is NOT dropping like a rock.

  18. Please, PLEASE, learn the difference between `its` and `it’s`. Most of your comments are insightful, but this repeated grammatical error makes reading difficult.
    [Editor’s Note: We do know the difference, so unfortunately it’s just a case of the Editor having a bad day (which is more difficult to rectify, but we’ll try). Now about that “most”…]

  19. Ha ha…love it. I believe dataquick tracks sales even by zip code, so when the next run of numbers comes out, we may see if prices are indeed falling for even Prime Marina properties in Prime zip codes like 94Prime123.

  20. Do like those appliances in the kitchen (but not the layout), but can’t help but notice OFFERS WED 7/19 (two months ago), and that while they were probably expecting a bidding war (hence the “OFFERS”), the selling price was 7K over the list. Definitely not the end of 94123, but it does seem like the environment is changing.

  21. I saw 3614 Webster St. as well. It’s very nice inside, but it was also DARK, and smallish feeling. I would say it was closer to 1,400 sqft. There was no bonus sun room like some units in the Marina have.. which would have been another 150-200 sqft. 1,900 sqft is not even in the ballpark.
    $1.6 million for a 2bed/2.5 bath flat… unbelievable. Marina continues to go up.

  22. That isn’t any 1400 square foot flat. The living room is much larger than is typical, and how many 1400 square foot flats have 2.5 baths?! I’ve never seen a single one that had that many baths for 2 bedrooms. Unbelievable. Last year this would have gone way over that.

  23. Tipster – Did you see the half bath? It was a little nook underneath the stairs that leads upstairs!
    Well, I for one am relieved by your reaction Tipster. If you think it’s unbelievable that this 2/2.5 bed condo went for only $1.6, and should have gone ‘way over’, then i hope you are representing the masses. And if that’s the case, the market has reset upwards AGAIN, and the market is just going to go higher.
    Nice little article in the SF Gate for you too:
    http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/17/REG7CL5TVN1.DTL
    Corporate housing checklist
    Location is king: If you’ve got a place relatively near where big firms congregate — the Financial District, Marina, San Jose — it’s a real possibility. Because tenants and their needs vary, though, just about any well-furnished place in any nice neighborhood has potential.
    How much risk? Make a realistic assessment of your risk tolerance. There won’t be any long-term leases. You’ll be renting on a month-by-month basis. You’ll make more — a one-bedroom condo that would normally go for $1,800 a month could bring in up to $4,000 a month or more as a corporate rental — but there may be downtime.
    Management fees: Don’t forget that you’ll be paying about 30 percent of the rent to the management firm. For this, they’ll hook you up with tenants, collect rent, clean the unit and send you a check each month. You’ll be responsible, however, for maintenance, insurance, etc.
    Make it nice: Success also depends on how well the unit is furnished. A stripped-down room won’t cut it. Tenants want the homey feel, which is why they’re willing to pay more. A nicely decorated unit with comfortable, attractive furniture, a large-screen television, plants, etc., is important.
    Those little extras: Amenities such as parking, washer and dryer also mean a lot. And fully furnished in this case means everything — sheets, towels, appliances, dishes, silverware.
    Safety first: Don’t forget about security. Good lighting, locks or even an alarm system will help.
    Consult the experts: These firms can answer questions and help you determine if corporate housing is the right choice:
    AvenueWest Corporate Housing, (415) 362-9600
    American Marketing Systems, (415) 447-2000
    Corporate Housing by Owner, (877) 333-2426

  24. Let’s talk about pricing here. The real estate agent for 3701 Divisadero, Unit 305 would have best served the seller by reducing the $725,000 price tag by $26,000 instead of $24,000; hence, putting the ask at $699,000 instead of $701,000.

  25. Corporate housing? And try to compete with the masses who bought at 25 cents on the dollar and now can’t sell for last year’s prices? No thanks. Every time the market turns down, people trot this idea out, then everyone jumps on the bandwagon and soon there are so many of them, the prices fall to practically nothing and there are vacancies galore, and now I’m stuck with furniture, dishes, sheets, etc. No thanks.

  26. C’mon tipster, the corporate housing market is a needed service. I was also a cancer patient and used a corporate hosuing rental, as did most of the others of us in the hospital. Geez, all the vomiting and stuff we did all over the carpets was worth the rent price alone. Not having to have to replace the carpets in our own homes was a godsend.
    You think 1-3 year tenants will trash a place, hoo boy, wait til you see the damage a 2 week tenant is going to do! After my chemo, it was party time!!!!

  27. I can’t believe someone thinks the 2/2.5 condo shoulda gone for more than $1.6 million!? Have people become that complacement about high prices? We renters need to unite and fight the power and take no! Hell no, we won’t buy! Hell no, we won’t go!

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